Your most important features
 

Hi guys, I am really getting hyped for the potential info release soon coming up and started to wonder what I feel is important in a greate NFL game. What's your thoughts?
Personally I feel that there's two important areas for my may of playing and that's:

1. Draft
I feel that a lot of games I've played always are too much top stacked with talent. It's simply are no good value at the later rounds like in FHM4 for an example . I feel that I look at a loot of players and think that it really doesn't matter who I take. I only hope that something happens with the guys potential and he gets great and develops. It's just a chance as it should be but it never happens. If you look at the NFL now there's a loot of late round players with first round talent thats playing great their first or second year. There's also some talent to find that goes undrafted. This will be important to make the game dynamic in a long term save. It would be nice to have a player in the 5round loking like a superstar according to my scouts that sometimes pans out and sometimes not. I don't know how all player look like "behind the scenes" but I am judging on the bars and they are almost always terrible.

2. Depht chart
I think I NFL game should have I simple way of setting the depth chart. I like the work madden has made but I'm missing some way off setting how much my backups are playing. I would like to have some way to set the snap procentage similar to OOTP way of handling bench players of how often they should start instead of the starter. A easy way to handle injuries without having to remake the whole depht chart would is also importan.

Any other thoughts? I know it's kind of stupid to do this now so early in the game but I feel that's it at least a way of communicating what we players are feeling.

My thoughts echo what I said in a similar thread in the OOTP forums: For me, I value customization. I just want to be able to freely edit and shape my NFL universe the way I see fit. Basically, the very same "Commissioner Mode" that we have in OOTP.

And I hope that eventually, we'll get the entirety of NFL History in the database, via Historical Mode; being able to coach the greatest football teams of the past. Basically, I just want a football version of OOTP Baseball.

But getting back to the question: Customization is my #1 feature for now.

Essentially Front Office Football with a major face-lift. The game has a Tesla engine in a Yugo body.

That's the only thing the game needs. To update its, frankly, abominable graphics engine and UI.

Yup. The new interface is the most important thing to me in the first release. I would also like to see a less cumbersome method of handling the depth charts.

I’d settle for a depth chart tbh - no such thing on FOF8, only packages. No way to set backups or subs at all.

The game MUST have total customization---players, teams, ratings, fantasy leagues----in short the things that make OOTP the best baseball game on the market !!! Also the customization has to be in game !!!

1) Draft
- Similar to how it was set up in NFLHC09. Stories throughout the season of how prospects perform and act, visits, workouts, pro days, the whole shabang

2) Free Agency
- Similar to how recruiting were in NCAA. Prospects have different interests and priorities that affect how much money they want. Brady wanted stability and continuity so Pats could get him below market value. Cousins chased the guaranteed payday. Sherman gambled on himself with incentives.

3) Formation/Depth Chart/Rotations
- Similar to nothing, it seems. Let me put a % on RB utilization or something akin to that. I want to run Ajayi 60% of the time, Sproles 10% and Clemens 30% where as I want Sproles to be in there for 50% of the passes and Ajayi and Clemens to split the remaining. I want Ngata on DT for 2nd and short and 3rd and short, I want Graham to get 90% of DE snaps, Barnett to get 70%, Cox to get 5%, Long to get 30% and the remaining to the backups, etc.
In short, I want much more customization of the rotations and not just fatigue based subs

I agree with what you guys are saying.

For online leagues though, I hope they add something to where, if any player is edited by the commish, make that write to the players history and make it where it cannot be deleted. This way you have no doubt the commissioner is being honest. This is one feature I wish OOTP baseball had in it.

Other than that, use the best of the other OOTP games.

I don’t think an NFL game will be as in-depth as baseball for programmers so hopefully it leads to being a very good product.
I have faith in OOTP as their baseball sim is the best there ever has been, IMO.

As you guys mentioned:
Draft
I read that OOTP baseball uses some algorithm and bases talent in upcoming drafts on how your talent is in your league already. Don’t know how true this is, but there needs to be some type of balance mechanism. I don’t want online leagues getting to where every team is a 90 rated overall team. But I also don’t want t see drafts completely sucking like we are experiencing in OOTP baseballs online leagues.

Free Agency
Just like T-rade mentioned. Have different interests in what attracts a player to a team. One thing I don’t like in madden is how it shows how many points each team has when going after free agents.
Keep the numbers hidden.
Make teams put in their best offer and go from there. I shouldn’t be able to see what other teams are offering.

Formation subs
I also like T-rade’s idea on the formation subs, etc.
Give us the ability to customize it.
This is probably my biggest gripe with OOTP baseball is how dumb the AI managers seem to be at times.

I really like tunnelrunner’s ida of the history of the NFL. Like in OOTP baseball, give my league the ability to start wherever we want basically.
Start with real NFL guys or all fiction, etc., again, like OOTP baseball.

Let us use real or fake team names, logos, etc.

Have an interface like OOTP baseball for live sims, etc. interface with websites like statsplus, groupme or slack.

And I forgot, have a weather feature. Snow and rain can play a role in NFL games.

I love how the game is at the moment, just a couple of improvements:

* Defensive play-calling, I want my players doing what I want when I want as it can be done in the offensive side already.

* Draft / Scouting Overhaul, Scouting and college stats (similar to what OOTP has).

I am sure that the guys of OOTP will enhance the Face of this game, which is already terrific.

Can't wait for OOTPFOF!!!

Face of the game is terrific.... that’s a joke, right?

The interface is a travesty. Countless sales were doubtlessly lost because of the horrific interface

Instead of adding other playable leagues, I think they should focus on adding the NCAA first. It doesn't have to be playable right off the bat.

A real live NCAA simulating results, accumulating stats, award winners, and story lines. This would open up alot of things in terms of scouting and drafting. Then eventually have it be playable.

The NCAA is like the minor leagues for football. We wouldn't play OOTP with out minor leagues would we?

No more randomness to ratings when starting a game.

1. Customization - OOTP is an A+ and FOF is a D.

2. Coaches - the coaches "draft" thing was a workaround and we really need a full coaches model. the OOTP model would be fine. Coaching in the NFL is every bit as important as players. Coaches should matter

3. Draft - the Draft is one of the best parts of the NFL. needs to be special

4. GUI - put the SI/OOTP shell on it and we are golden

5. 2D - XOR had a decent 2D view in 1984 - no reason we cant get at least that level in the first release in 2018

6. better playbooks

7. day by day calendar in the OOTP/SI mode. the day by day model is vastly superior to the week to week model

I think you have this completely backward. The main reason we don't see many American Football games is because it's incredibly difficult to program for.

In Baseball you have isolated moments. The pitch, the batter, the ball in play. They can all be calculated pretty much independent of each other at any given moment. The main catch with a baseball game it to emulate real world stats and you have a ton of very detailed stats to keep track of. Once you nail that, you're good. But the complexity of the sim is much more basic than in other sports as there are less moving pieces at any given moment.

In Football/Soccer and Hockey you have a slightly more complex and fluid game. Players all have individual ratings on speed, passing ability, shooting ability, defense, and so on. The players have assigned roles that stay moderately defined as play moves across the play field, but the way they interact is all the same: you kick the ball with your foot or you use a stick to hit the puck.

In American Football, however, you take the complexity of the above and make it so 22 players are all moving in different directions and can end up anywhere on the field at any moment. At all times their height and weight are at play, coupled with their speed and agility to go with their strength, ability to tackle, ability to catch a ball, etc. There are a ton of variables on every player on every play which can take place all over the field. Plays involve passing, which involves its own offensive and defensive bars and stats, but then you have the run game which also has its own bars and stats. Then factor in special teams and you have even more bars and stats that need to be factored in. It's a giant mess.

Once you nail down the basic functions on an American Football game, you have to make sure your stats are coming out as expected and no one can go Madden on the game and call Hail Mary's all game long. Gameplanning is basically a whole game on its own.

I could go on, but suffice to say I think American Football is the absolute toughest sport to code for, in large part because of the amount of moving pieces involved in every play.

I agree but there have been some good ones in the past stretching all the way back to XOR football and the Football Pro series. And today, FOF does a mighty good job on gameplay simming and is unbeatable in the management aspect of the game.

It needs that OOTP interface to make it a hallmark game. And eventually some simple graphics (that's a really hard part).

Agreeing with many, OOTPstyle customization

....and Historical built-in at least back to 1960.

Alternate Suggestion for Historical Built-In could probably go back to 1920 or 1950, Probably If I Can do a Dynasty using Front Office Football in an OOTP Dynasty Thread that I'm working I'm considering 1950 over 1920, period.

Coach and coordinator development would give a long-playthrough some real character.

It might just be me being nerdy but I enjoy tracking the career progression of coaches and hope a realistic coaching carousal will be a factor in the game.

Successful OC's being offered head coaching jobs after a few years, assistant coaches improving in traits and being promoted to coordinators, even a failed head coach falling back to a coordinator role etc.

I asked these questions a while back of BTS:

-Will talented coordinators make the transition to interviewing for head coach roles?
-Will fired head coaches sometimes take up a coordinator role (e.g. Jim Schwartz, Wade Phillips)
-Will coaching attributes fluctuate over time?
-Will coaches have their own particular preferences for off/def schemes?
-Will new coaches be generated aka coming up from the college game?

That's some of the stuff I'd love to see that would add some realism.

These are all already "yes" in FOF8.

That's a good start then! I guess I meant slightly more expanded i.e. position coaches as well.

Custom Leagues(larger than current NFL)
CFL( or custom league(s) with CFL rules)

Yeah Garion, but the coordinator to head coach isn't so much interviewing for a position as much as it is them getting "selected". I would love for this part of the game to change but I doubt it will.

:o

Oh, for sure. I assumed the "interviewing" bit meant promotion, etc. There's no interviewing process atm (and isn't in OOTP either).

Definitely lacks flavor, but if you want someone to go from OC to HC you can do that. And HC's who get **** canned can be drafted as a coordinator.

That said, some of the chemistry stuff from OOTP would be nice in terms of the coach personalities and influence on player development, etc.

Keep it simple for the first release.

A new interface will bring more people into the game.

Clean up the mess of trying to find players on the FA lists

You are exactly right. I was thinking from a stats perspective how baseball tracks everything, I was not thinking from a programming perspective as you laid out.

yeap, yeap!

We need a fully functioning feeder system as well as a fully fleshed out Draft, UDFA signings happening right after. Currently in Madden, UDFAs sign in the preseason....

The big hope is for Jim to get his college game up and running again and then tie into FOF9.

1. Team Dynamics

If you have played Football Manager, then you will know about the new feature in FM18. It adds even further to the team building aspect by measuring team cohesion, dressing atmosphere, leaders.

This added feature makes you think about the type of players you have in your team, whether there are enough leaders in the locker room, if you have unhappy players who are impacting team morale, whether players have played together for a long period.

This adds to team building experiencing as you may have an amazing team but if you have the wrong types of personalities or they havent had time to gel, it has an impact on your performance. Balancing an NFL locker room is a crucial part of the job and we see many times players are released or trading as they are having a negative impact on the team.

2. Mentoring

Another part FM does really well. If you have experienced older players they can mentor young players and pass on personality types, traits or build relationships. However, it can work negatively if the two players in question have different personality types. You may have a veteran QB who is a determined winner but if you are asking him to mentor your 3rd round draft pick who is lazy and money oriented, they may clash and fall out which can affect team morale or chemistry. However, it may work the other way and the lazy QB may become more determined and gain traits like high work ethic.

We always see young players drafted sitting behind veterans learning the game whilst they wait for their opportunity especially at the QB position. You just have to look at this years draft to see many QB's drafted and now sitting behind veteran stop gaps.

3. Coaches

I like on OOTP how coaches have positive or negative relationship with players. Many teams hire QB guru's as their OC to help develop young QB's or if a team has a great offense but are poor on defense, they may hire a defensive mind HC to get the best out of the defense. I would love to coach ratings such as motivation, level of discipline and ratings for each position, so you can try to tailor your coach to your team. Also for these coaches to have traits like having long tall corners like Pete Caroll who then may get a boost when developing if he has long tall corners starting. Someone like McVay is meant to be Offensive Guru so they can help aid a young QB like Goff.

There are so many reasons why teams are successful from drafting, free agency etc but having the right infrastructure in terms of coaching makes a huge difference. Look at the Falcons last season to the season before when they made the Super Bowl. Coaches have a huge impact not just the HC but also the coordinators too.

I love the drafting and free agency sides of things but also think the above goes a very long way to having a successful team. I would love to make tough decisions like trading my All Pro CB who was unhappy and causing other players on my team to become or unhappy or to have Legendary RE mentor my 1st Draft Pick and help develop a trait like a bull rush move.

Little things like this make the game so much more realistic. These are just my thoughts and have no idea if they are already in FOF.

All are to a degree, but not to the extent of the extent described above, so definitely room for expansion

I certainly have a large wish list but my number one feature is getting a top notch GUI. An in game editor would be nice too as well as the Canadian nationality added

The OOTP 19 based GUI is my top priority for the first release.

The NFL draft should be a huge part of the game. This is a management game of course. We need unique and detailed scouting reports on every prospect. ootp took a big leap forward in their reports this year and would hope for the same in this years version. There needs to be a way to differentiate different players for different schemes and players should fit different molds and types. Before I draft a player I should be able to look at the player and see which type of scheme he fits in and so forth.

1) A "can't get fired" option.

2) The ability to customize the game. Let me have fictional players if I want. Let me have a team in Flint, Michigan, or London, England if I want.

All of the above already in FOF :)

Edit - actually, not sure about London, but definitely could have a team in Flint

ditch the staff draft from FOF8.

My #1 need, of course, is full customization - to the point where if the game isn't fully customizable, I won't buy.

Rehash?
 

I have to say if this game is basically the rigid FOF engine which allows NO variety in how you can play, with a few OOTP screens and navigation thrown in, I will not be interested. I don't mind Gindin contributing and getting his dime for it but this game needs to be alot of OOTP xith an assist from FOF. It already bothers me that the game is keeping the FOF name. Ominous. If you are going to try to sell that game to people under the OOTP umbrella you can count me out.

what is fully customizable to you?

I hope there isn't an in-game editor introduced in future versions. I've experienced several OOTP leagues that were doomed due to in-game editor manipulations, I.E. cheating..

I hope they do include an editor. Sometimes I like to tinker with commissioner mode, other times not. I think having more ways to make the game customizable is the way to go.

I’d like to turn it into a VR 1st person shooter to replay the Last Boy Scout scene. If that’s not in the new game, it’s a no-sale for me

I should have said "fully customizable within reason" - in other words, don't lock the player into a preset league structure.

If I want to expand to 33 teams, let me do that. If I want a 9-round draft, let me do that. Et cetera.

haha seeing as how that has only now made it's appearance in OOTP 19 it might take a couple years for football to catch up.

More freedom in your game world I would love to see too. It's difficult at this point to predict to what extent the game will include if anything beyond FOF 8. Some of these items have ripple effects as well. If the number of draft rounds were increased, than the draft pool must be flexible so it can increase/decrease with it. These things along with league structure were hard coded in FOF. But hopefully with the support of the OOTP team we will see more of these options with each release.

The most important 'feature' for the first release is to have an OOTP GUI on top of the existing FOF engine. Customization, such as different league configurations will probably be developed in future releases and versions.

I don't see any deal breakers for me in this first release. I just want an immersive game that is easily accessible. Added goodies can come later.

Yea, that's a pretty wide open and vague description.

A college game with playcalling

OOTP 19 level of customization and extremely in-depth front office proceedings (draft, free agency, etc.)

Also, easy graphical modding. I saw the news that it WILL release on Mac, so you all know that i'll be getting this game and will be active in the graphical modding department. Just hoping it'll be made easier for me and everyone/anyone else.

Considering I thought Front Page Sports Football Pro 96 was the best video game ever created.. I will be pretty lenient on my expectations for a 1st release.

For us old-eyes, will there be font size enlargement and exports to html/excel?